Published 4:00 am, Saturday, October 18, 2003

Photo: CARLOS OSORIO

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Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, addresses the Arab American Institute National Leadership Conference in Dearborn, Mich., Friday, Oct. 17, 2003. Six of the Democratic presidential candidates were expected to speak in person or by satellite at the conference with two more expected Saturday. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) less

Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, addresses the Arab American Institute National Leadership Conference in Dearborn, Mich., Friday, Oct. 17, 2003. Six of the Democratic ... more

2003-10-18 04:00:00 PDT Dearborn, Mich. -- Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., was booed and heckled Friday by an audience of Arab-Americans as a parade of presidential hopefuls made their appeals to a constituency that is gaining recognition as an increasingly important swing vote in the 2004 campaign.

Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, drew shouts of disagreement from many of the 300 people attending the Arab-American Institute leadership conference in this Detroit suburb when he attempted to defend the security fence under construction by the Israeli government in the West Bank as a temporary nuisance that would be removed once the Palestinian leadership makes "a 100 percent effort" to end terrorism.

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His reception was in marked contrast to the applause given rivals Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and a spokesman for retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who canceled because of illness. Marc Racicot, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and now chairman of President Bush's re-election campaign, was heard in silence and criticized afterward for his response to questions about administration policy in Middle East and the anti-terrorism Patriot Act, both of which are highly unpopular with this audience.

The turnout of candidates and campaign officials -- with other Democratic hopefuls still to come today -- was hailed by meeting sponsors as a clear sign that the Arab-American community, which is believed to number close to 3 million, has overcome prejudice and is being recognized as a legitimate and even important voting bloc.

Lieberman, who in 2000 became the first Jew nominated for the national ticket by either major party, was given a warm introduction by James J. Zogby, head of the Arab-American Institute and an active player in Democratic politics. Zogby told the audience that when Arab-Americans were being excluded from the 1992 Clinton campaign, it was Lieberman who "was outraged" and called the Little Rock headquarters to have the policy changed.

Lieberman was applauded when he criticized the Bush administration for mass arrests of Middle Eastern immigrants after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and said that holding illegal immigrants incommunicado for long periods of time "is an affront to basic American freedoms." And there were murmurs of approval when he said that "the only acceptable solution" to the Middle East fighting was "two states living side by side in peace -- Israel and Palestine."

But the audience reaction became hostile when Lieberman recalled his criticism of Dean for suggesting "it's not our place to take sides" in the Middle East conflict. During a Democratic debate last month, Lieberman argued that Dean's comment reversed 50 years of bipartisan support for Israel -- a charge Dean heatedly denied. Friday, Lieberman said he might have implied much the same thing himself when he said, "Surely, Americans can be both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine." But members of the audience began shouting at him, "The wall. Talk about the wall."

Instead, Lieberman said the first step toward peace in the Middle East must be for the Palestinian Authority to find leadership that "will make a 100 percent effort to stop terrorism," and then Israel can be expected to withdraw settlements in the West Bank and take other steps outlined in the "road map" supported by the Bush administration.

The first question from the audience demanded his position on the security fence being constructed to separate Israel from Palestinian territory.

Lieberman said, "I regret the separation," but said it was understandable because, "we have been victims of terrorism, as the Israelis have." There were shouts of "No," and, "Tell the truth."

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